Thomas s



(No Model.)

. S'. GILBERT.

CORSET.

No. 371,444. Patented Oct. 11, 1887.

MUM llll 1 .E i?

N. PEIERs. Fholnhllwgnpher. Washington. I)v Q UNITED STATES PATENTEEicE.

THOMAS S. GILBERT, OF NE\V HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO MAYER,STROUSE & CO., OF SAME PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,444, dated October11, 1887.

Application filed May 16, 1887. Serial No. 238,298. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS S. GILBERT, of New Haven, in the county ofNew Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement inCorsets; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connectionwith accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon,to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which saiddrawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, iii-Figure 1, a side view of one-half of the corset; Fig. 2, a transversesection through the body and two of the overlays; Fig. 3, a verticalcentral section through one of the pockets, showing the overlay and thebody of the corset; Fig. 4, a portion of the corset at the upper edge,showing the flap as raised, exposing the upper ends of the pockets andstays; Fig. 5, an inside view of the corset at the lower edge, showing aportion of the flap as turned away to expose the openings through thebody into the pocket.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of corsets inwhich the body is formed from a single thickness of fabric incontradistinetion to two thicknesses of fabric, through which parallellines of stitches are run to form pockets for the introduction of thestays, but in lieu of which second thickness narrow vertical strips offabric are placed as overlays upon the exterior of the single thicknessand stitched thereto with parallel lines of stitches to form thepockets, the object of the invention being to adapt this class ofcorsets to the use of steel or what are commonly called watch springstays as a substitute for bones.

In the use of steel stays it is necessary that the corset shall beconstructed so that the stays may be readily removed for launderingpurposes; but in the usual construction of this class of corsets thepockets are closed at the top and bottom, so that removal of the staysnecessitates ripping the ends of the pockets. Again, under the bestusage the watchspring stays are liable to break. It is thereforedesirable that the corset should be constructed so that these stays maybe readily replaced when broken.

To this end the invention consists in a corset the body of which iscomposed of a single thickness, combined with vertical overlays upon thesurface of the body of the corset, the

said overlays stitched to the body of the cor k set at the lower edgeoverlapping the openings in the body of the corset upon the inside, asmore fully hereinafter described.

- A represents the body of the corset, which is made from a singlethickness of fabric, and may be cut from several pieces stitchedtogether or woven or knit to the required shape. Upon the outer surfaceof the corset, at the points where stays are required, overlays ornarrow strips of fabric are applied, B representing the first overlayat, the rear, C the second overlay, D the third overlay, the saidoverlays C D being one each side the vertical hip-line, and E representsseveral vertical overlays on the front or breast portion of the corset.These overlays all extend from the extreme lower edge of the corset to apoint near the upper edge, as shown, and are stitched to the body of thecorset by vertical seams, as shown, forming pockets to receive thestays. These pockets terminate with the overlays at a. point below theupper edge of the corset, and are there left open for the introductionor removal of the stays.

At the lower edge the corset is bound in the usual manner, the bindinginclosing both the body and the lower end of the overlays. Upon theinner or reverse side the single thickness or body of the corset is cutthrough above the lower edge into the pockets, so as to form an openingupon the inner side of the corsct'near its lower edge into therespective pockets. Upon the upper edge a flap, F, is stitched upon theoutside to extend down over the upper ends of the overlays, and thisstrip may be hidden by an ornamental trimming.

Upon the inside of the corset, at the lower edge, a flap, G, is stitchedto the corset, may

be included in the binding, and extends up above theopenings in the bodyof the corset, and is secured to the corset by lacings, as shown, orotherwise.

The stays, which are made of strips of fine steel commonly calledwatch-spring, are introduced into the pockets either at the top orbottom. The stays, when in place, extend at their lower end below thepocket-opening on the inside of the corset and to the bottom of thepocket, so as to prevent their working downward. At the upper end theyare cov' cred by the flap F, as shown.

The stays are readilyremovcd by raising the flap at the top andwithdrawing them from their respective pockets. If a stay breaks, thebreak occurs at the waist-line'or at the short bend. In either case theparts may be removed, the one from the top and the other through theopening in the body of the corset upon the inside, and a new one may beintroduced at the upper end of the pockets, asbefore described. Thisconstruction makes a very light corset adapted to the use of watchspringstays.

I vdo not claim, broadly, a corset having the body composed of a singlethickness of fabric with overlays stitched thereto to form pockets forthe stays, as such, I am aware, is not new.

I am also aware of United States Patent No. 357,356, and do not claimanything therein shown or described. The corset is composed tinuousupper edge, leaving the vertical pockets formed'between the twothicknesses open- 4o ing at the edge of the shorter thicknessesrespectively, and distant from the edges proper of the corset, thepresent invention differing from that of the said patent in that thecorset is composed of one thickness only, with narrow overlays, whichmust extend to the lower edge of the corset only and cannot projectbeyond it; hence the openings into the pockets must be cut throughthesingle thickness or body of the corset into the pockets; but

What I do claim is- A corset the body of which is composed of.

body constructed with openings on the reverse side above the lower edgeof the corset into the said pockets, and a flap secured to the upperedge of the said body and extending down over the upper ends of the saidoverlays, with stays in said pockets, all substantially as described. a

, THOMAS S. GILBERT.

Witnesses:

FRED C. EARLE, J. H. SHUMWAY.

